The Final Hours
by Couragefan09
Summary: In the end he couldn't save the world, in the end he couldn't save Muriel. In the final hours he goes to the only help that he knows even if there is no hope.


The Final Hours

By Couragefan09

A light breeze ruffled Courage's fur, it reminded him of some of the nicer days Nowhere had. It was almost as if it knew today was going to be it's last and thus was trying to make the last day as wonderful as possible. There was almost a surreal quality to the world around the farm.

Courage sighed wistfully, despite the calming weather nothing could calm his fears. Though the weather felt perfect the sky would make anyone shiver with worry. The sun was hanging low in the sky, the sky itself was an unhealthy crimson, it was such a sickly color you couldn't mistake it for a proper sunset. The last worrying feature was the strange black line just off the horizon, it almost looked like a tidal wave.

The sun had been hanging in the same spot for nearly three days now. In actuality it was really almost midnight and although Courage was tired he knew there was no point in sleeping when there was soon going to be all eternity to do that. He hadn't moved from his spot on the porch for almost a day now. The silence in the house was simply too maddening for him and turning on the TV only gave him a front row seat to the pandemonium engulfing the world. Instead he opted to watch 'it' come closer, 'it' would be here soon and there was nothing he could do about it.

Sometimes he felt that he accepted his fate, other times he'd become so frightened at the thought of his own morality he would break down sobbing. He'd scream up at the sky or become so scared and so angry that he felt he'd pass out. Sometimes he'd try and figure out ways to save himself, sometimes he'd think that maybe he'd take Eustace's truck and drive away. But what good would that do? His fate was sealed, no place was safe from the oncoming darkness.

And besides that he was lonely, oh so very lonely. He knew deep down that the only way he'd see them again was through death, death that he could not escape anyway. Soon everybody would be in the land of death and nobody would be lonely again. He did not know if that was supposed to be a happy fate or not.

He wondered if it would hurt, Muriel had screamed as It ate her alive. He wondered what it would be like to be dead, wondered if there was a heaven or hell or something else entirely. He wondered if he even had the right to go where Muriel had gone. He found himself shaking again, wishing he didn't have to face this all alone.

He stood up to shift his weight and wake up his legs which had long since fallen asleep on him. He wanted company, he didn't want to watch the darkness, his fate, get closer all alone. He could only think of one person and one person only who still remained that he could talk to. He turned and headed into the house.

The house itself seemed to know its own fate was coming, nothing was spared from the all consuming jaws. In the silence it had it's own air of despair to it. The house did not even creak loudly like it normal did as the wind hit it. Courage didn't like being inside it like this, without Muriel and Eustace to keep it lively it really did feel like the middle of nowhere. It felt as though the whole world had gone silent now that It had been released into it. It really was the end times like some people ranted about on the streets.

Courage felt himself sigh again. It only felt like yesterday that everything had still been good. Sometimes he wished Shirley had never come knocking on his door, at least then he wouldn't have know the end was coming until it was too late. As he made his way upstairs he couldn't help but think off all the horrible things that had befallen him.

It had been like any normal night when he had opened the door to find a rather disheveled Shirley waiting for him. Normally nothing fazed the odd fortune teller but that night had been different. She had pulled him out into the cold night air and slammed the door before Eustace or Muriel could find out who was there. She then told him that she needed help and if he didn't help the world would meet its end. She spoke of an ancient evil that had once nearly destroyed the world, one that her ancestors had sealed away supposedly for good. As a decedent of the clan that did away with the darkness she had always had special powers most people did not and as a decedent she could feel if the seal keeping the darkness at bay was weakening. When the signals began to go off that the seal was beginning to fail she went out to find out who could possibly be messing with it. Her worst fears were confirmed when she found that the military had found the seal and was trying to break it. They had no idea what sort of evil it held and refused to listen to pleas of a strange fortune telling dog.

She begged him to help her and what choice did he have? If something like that got out nobody would survive. They had tried to figure out ways to sabotage the military's efforts but most didn't do much in the end. As the days went by it seemed less and less likely they would be able to stop the release of the darkness and then something happened that nearly broke him, the government came and took Muriel and Eustace away from him. Despite having nothing to do with the military efforts they were taken under suspicion of sabotage, they took them for what Courage had been doing.

Having no choice he convinced Shirley to infiltrate the base with him. He was going to save Muriel if it killed him and maybe they'd be able to stop the breaking of the seal from there. It had looked like things may have worked out after all, that maybe he could save the world in the end after all. It was not to be though...

While they were in the base trying to find Eustace and Muriel the seal broke and It leaked out into the world. Just thinking about what happened that day nearly made him throw up. It seeped down the halls like creeping black mud, It consumed anyone who got in It's way, It eroded walls as if it were made out of sand, wherever It went the sound of a thousand tiny jaws seemed to follow, wherever It went the sound of a thousand screams followed...

Courage felt himself collapse at the top the stairs. He grabbed his head in his paws and fought back a scream. What he saw that day was burnt in his mind and it seemed to ebb away at it every time he tried to visualize the horror that he saw creeping down the halls. On one hand it always looked like thick black mud overtaking everything that came into contact with it. On the other hand he could remember seeing thousands of mouths, thousands of teeth gnashing wildly, a thousand non existent eyes staring at him wishing to devour his very soul, a thousand arms and legs carrying the bloated mass along like some kind of bug. Worst of all he felt It sing, oh god he couldn't get it out of his mind. He could still feel It singing out on the horizon...getting closer day by day.

There was no hope, he had failed to save the world, failed to save Muriel. It would be coming to eat his flesh very soon, coming to eat what little of his life he still had left on this hapless farm, nothing would be spared. He could only hope that his soul could escape that writhing black mass in the end. If not then he had even more reasons to fear death.

His mind went back to that awful day once more, guilt wracked his mind. He had managed to free Muriel from her prison before It could get that far. He had left Eustace, what a horrible dog he was. He had panicked, he didn't want to stick around long enough to save Eustace too before It found It's way to them. He left him, he just left him...Eustace was a horrible man yes but nobody deserved to be stuck in that cage as It came barreling down upon them.

Neither he or Shirley knew the layout of the military base and so they found themselves racing through it only getting more lost. Every once in a while they'd have a close call with It but every time he managed to get both Shirley and Muriel out of there in time. His luck quickly ran out though, It came bursting through the wall just as they came up to the exit. It engulfed Shirley in an instant and just like that she was gone. He grabbed Muriel's arm and ran but she tripped, It had gotten a hold of her leg. He had pulled as hard as he could but it only seemed to engulf more of her. He had to let her go. He had to. If he hadn't it would have gotten him too. He had to.

Back in the real world he raced to the bathroom and emptied his stomach. Oh god, how could he have let Muriel die like that? He was supposed to be her protector and he ran like a coward! She screamed the whole time time and he just let It eat her!

'Courage the cowardly dog!' He thought bitterly. 'Couldn't save anyone in the end! Not even himself!'

Exiting the bathroom he wandered slowly down the hallway and into the attic. He thought this place might offer him some comfort but it did not. The dead sun hung right outside the window bathing the room in the same sickly colors as everything else. It was all so eerie and he felt as though he might throw up again. He wished the sun would move, even just a little bit. Ever since It was released neither the sun nor moon rose or fell.

He glanced over at the lone computer sitting on the desk at the end of the room. Computer was switched on right now, Courage had left him on after some incident before Shirley had come looking for help. He had never used Computer for any of their attempts to keep It sealed but he was certain the internet was alive with the final thoughts of people about to be engulfed, he was certain Computer knew what was happening. Perhaps it was best that he didn't know that the 'twit' in his eternal idiocy was the reason he was about to die.

Courage clamored up into the chair and blinked up at the screen. Computer didn't usually talk unless spoken to first but he did have his moments and Courage expected it to happen here. He didn't have anything to say to the machine, he just wanted to be spoken to so that he could keep sane. It seemed that when it became obvious that he wasn't going to ask anything Computer spoke up.

"And to what do I owe the honor of having you visit me on the eve of our destruction?" He spoke with both a deep sarcasm and bitterness. "I'm afraid I don't have a cure for the end of the world."

_'I know.' _Courage typed.

"Then why are you here?" The machine asked bitterly. "Don't you have your owners to go stay with or something?"

Courage let his eyes fall away from the screen as if breaking eye contact. _'They're gone. It already got them.' _It hurt to type it out, it was as if he were confirming that fact that Muriel was dead and gone.

"Oh." The machine replied sounding rather uninterested, he seemed to hesitate before adding. "That's rather unfortunate."

Courage let out a weak sigh as silence fell between the two of them. He glanced out the window, the blackness on the horizon was definitely growing.

"How does it look out there?" Computer asked surprising him. Computer rarely asked about the things going on around him.

_'It'll be here soon.' _Was all that he typed in. He didn't want to think about it anymore then that. _'I can't stop something like that.'_

"Humans are exceptionally good at destroying themselves. It's not as if a dog had any chance of stopping them from doing what they wanted to do." Computer replied.

_'But I tried and in the end Muriel suffered worse for it.' _

"It doesn't matter. We're all about to meet the same fate anyway."

Courage found himself completely taken aback by how nonchalant the machine was about their impending fate. Part of him was starting to believe that his boast about not being afraid of anything was true. Surely he knew what was coming?

_'Aren't you afraid?'_

"Not really. I mean it's going to be so fast you'll be dead before you even know it happened."

Courage shivered. After watching It consume so many people he wasn't so sure it was as fast or as painless as Computer believed but he wasn't willing to argue on what was inevitably about to happen to them. He hoped Computer was right...

"Are you?" Computer asked quietly as though he needed confirmation.

That question caught him off guard, he didn't really know how to respond. _'Of course I am. I saw It eat them. I don't want to die like that.'_

"I suppose this is goodbye then?" The machine asked. He seemed to grow more and more tense and Courage was starting to believe that maybe he was lying about not being afraid.

_'Maybe only for a little while. ' _ He typed trying to smile. He desperately wanted to believe something happy awaited them all after this was all done and over with. _'I'm sure your going to go wherever I go.'_

This seemed to be the confirmation the machine needed to voice his worries. "We machines don't exactly come equipped with souls, spirits, or whatever. "

_'I'm sure your just the same as the rest of us. We can keep each other company because I doubt I'll ever be allowed to see Muriel again after abandoning her like that.' _And now he found himself voicing his own worries. 

"Well I suppose its better then non existence but an eternity with you does _not _sound pleasant." The machine replied growing slightly more lighthearted again.

_'Don't worry, the feeling is mutual.'_ He found himself smiling, it felt weird to find some comfort in such bleak times. He didn't even think he was capable of joking anymore. It took his mind off things and that was worth the world.

"Well, it's been fun." Computer spoke. Courage could almost envision him smiling.

_'It has hasn't it?'_

"Your planning on staying up here right?"

Courage glanced out the window feeling the familiar dread fill him. _'Yeah.'_

"Good, I think I'd rather not face this alone." The machine admitted.

Courage had to agree with him, he did find a strange sort of comfort in not having to face the end alone. 

_'I'll be here until the end. I'm not going to run away again like Muriel.'_

"I suppose that is a happy thought." Computer mused quietly. "You know what dog?"

_'What?'_

"Courage is not the absence of fear but to face your fears and stand up against them."

Courage nodded in reply and gazed out the window again. He wouldn't be facing death alone now.

The darkness was ever growing on the horizon. Death was nearly here. He was terrified yes but that was alright. He isn't the only one afraid, the only one uncertain. He wasn't going to be alone in the end, he wasn't the only one going through all these frightened emotions. Death would have to come greet them together and that alone made things better.

Courage looked away from the window deciding he didn't want to watch It coming any closer. He continued to chat with the machine trying to keep things lighthearted.

He wanted to keep feeling this sense of normalcy in these final hours at the end of the world.


End file.
